motherhood • wifehood • workhood

Doing swimmingly

I once joked that I think I pay the salary of some of the swim teachers at the pool, because of how many times my kids have repeated certain levels. And while it hurts to do these levels multiple times, I still firmly believe that all that money is worth it.

Swimming is a life skill and I will not stop until they are confident and independent swimmers. I want to be able to go swimming with them, jump into a pool or the ocean and not worry about them. I don’t want them to be afraid around water, or miss out on the fun.

In order to help them out, we did some private lessons over the summer. Our goal was to help give them a better chance of advancing this term by going more often, and working on the things they were lacking from the last term in the spring. And I can see a difference in both girls.

The Little Bird has no hesitation jumping into the deep end, can cross the length of the pool in almost a single breath and can tread water longer and more confidently.

The Little Mouse is doing her floats with ease, including on her back and working on her glides and turns. She still doesn’t like to jump in, but I know we’re getting there.

While they are still both a work in progress, they love having lessons. They look forward to them and both always seem to have a smile on their faces when they are in the pool for their session. I guess, compared to the kids who are sitting with their arms crossed, or worse, the ones who are crying, we’re doing okay.

So as D and I watch from the gallery, all we can hope for is that the lessons sink in, they try their hardest and their confidence grows with each float and glide.